We sometime since made mention of
the conversion of a Jewish lawyer, Joseph
Rabinowitz, of Southern Russia, to faith
in Christ Jesus.
Fully persuaded of the
Messiahship of Jesus he returned to his
home in Bessarabia and began to preach
"Jesus our Jewish brother the true Messiah,"
with great success.
Shortly after
it was rumored that he had been murdered,
but the latest accounts contradict
this and say that the movement among
the Jews is spreading gradually.
The
following translation of a letter from the
Reformer to a gentleman of London
will be read with interest.
The fig tree
cursed to the end of the age not only has
leaves of promise but now begins to bear
fruit.

KISHENEY, January 2, 1885.
To JOHN WILKINSON, the esteemed
man:

Your valuable letter and your pamphlet,
"The Work of the Lord Among
Israel," were received.
My heart rejoiced
when I read them and perceived
how great and strong the love of your
heart is toward the brethren of the Lord
Jesus, the Messiah, according to the flesh,
and how precious the salvation of the
Israelitic nation is in your eyes.

I prostrate myself before Jehovah, the
God of our Lord Jesus, and from the
depth of my heart stream forth the words
of the Sweet Singer of Israel (Psa. 35,)
"Let them be ashamed and brought to
confusion together that rejoice at mine
hurt.
Let them shout for joy and be
glad that favor my righteous cause; yea,
let them say continually, Let the Lord
be magnified, which hath pleasure in the
prosperity of his servant."
Amen.

Herewith I send you a pamphlet,
"The First Fruits of a Fig Tree," which
contains my opinions and statements in
reference to those children of Israel in
Southern Russia who believe in Jesus as
the Messiah.
These documents have
been edited by Professor Franz Delitzsch,
of Leipzig.
Out of them you will learn
to know the origin of our faith in Jesus
(our Brother bodily), the Messiah.
He
is the innermost desire and longing of
our hearts.
Our English friends and
brethren in Jesus, our Saviour, may be
convinced by this above-named pamphlet
that after the Lord hath made bare
his holy arms in the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth have
seen the salvation of our God, that now
the time has come when there shall depart
and go out from the midst of Israel
all unclean persons, and the bearers of
the vessels of the Lord shall be cleansed.

True, the salvation of the Lord cannot
go out and come into (Joshua 6:1) the
world with haste, nor can it walk with
rapidity, but now as Jehovah, the Avant-guard
and King of the Universe, has
passed on before the people of Israel,
the God of Israel shall come also as Rear-guard,
as gatherer of the outcasts of
Israel.

Beloved of the Lord!
I herewith write
to you that when my feet touched the
holy city, i.e., Jerusalem, and I beheld
the place where they pierced Him
(Jesus), then and there Jehovah enlightened
my eyes, so that I understood the
Law, the Prophets and Psalms in reference
to the plan of salvation, and I tasted
somewhat of the sweetness of that mystery
which is, to the sorrow of my heart,
still unrevealed to the majority of my
brethren, the sons of Israel.

From that time on I devoted my time
and name to the welfare of my stubborn
and unhappy nation to testify unto them
with a brazen forehead in the strength
of God the gospel of promise, which
our fathers had received, viz: that God
hath raised this man, Jesus of Nazareth,
out of the seed of David as Saviour
(Liberator) of Israel.

Through the depth of the riches and
wisdom of God, the highest, our Fathers,
who were incumbents of the Promise,
rebelled against Jesus, so that grace
might be bestowed upon the heathen nations,
not through any promise, but
through grace in the gospel of the
Messiah.

Now, after the fulness of the Gentiles
hath come in, the time has arrived for
us, the sons of Israel, to return to the
God of Israel and his King and be his
beloved children.
We should accept
our heritage, the heritage of Jacob, which
is without limit, for we are the legitimate
heirs, children of Abraham, disciples
of Moses, servants of the house
of David in eternity.
Thus our fulness (i.e., the coming of many Israelites to
Christ) will be our riches and the riches
of the nations, according to the words
of Jehovah by St. Paul, a firstborn of
Israel, and at the same time the foremost
among the returning heathen.

Among my brethren and in large
meetings I earnestly admonish, "Shake
thyself from the dust; arise, put on my
beautiful garments, my people; through
the son of Jesse, Jesus of Nazareth, hath
the Lord done great things with thee, O
Israel, that he might also work great
things among the nations of the earth,
who were blessed in our fathers."

I greatly thank God that I see thousands
who cheerfully listen, and I trust
in Jehovah, who elected David his servant,
and his seed after him, that in due
time all these will be living stones built
by God himself into a steadfast house
and priestly sanctuary, so that acceptably
sacrifices may be brought hither to
the God of Israel in Jesus, the Messiah.
They shall know and accept the truth,
which alone can make them free children.

Many and worthy sons of Israel are
waiting and long for the hour, the hour
of grace of our God.
I implore you,
in the name of our brethren in Russia
who seek the salvation, that the friends
of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherever they
be, may not be silent, but that they give
counsel and speak out boldly, until Immanuel
be with us also, until Jehovah
show us him and his dwelling.

Then all who see us in our land, Russia,
will say of us, "They are the blessed
seed of the Lord."

These are humble words written from
afar off by one who bows before you and
seeks a more intimate acquaintance with
you, a son of Israel indeed.